{Review} COBBOGOTH by Hannah L. Clark & GIVEAWAY!!


A Backwards Story is happy to be a part of The {Teen} Book Scene's tour for COBBOGOTH!  Check out the tour schedule to see the list of events. Stop back at A Backwards Story on March 15th for a fun feature with the author!

Title: COBBOGOTH
Author: Hannah L. Clark
Release Date: Out now (Dec. 03, 2011)
Publisher: KinStone Publishing, LLC (Hannah L. Clark's own publishing company; the reason Clark went this route is outlined here)
Received: Review copy courtesy of Hannah L. Clark and The {Teen} Book Scene

SUMMARY:

To seventeen-year-old Norah Lukens, the Cobbogothians were just a myth. But after her archeologist uncle's brutal murder, and being asked to translate one of his old research journals for evidence, she begins a journey to discover the truth for herself.


Chasing the myth her uncle was obsessed with, Norah learns that his murder was a cover up for something far more sinister. If she hopes to save others from suffering the same fate he did--including the peculiarly magnetic James Riley--she must head to Iceland in order to find out the truth once and for all.


If she succeeds, she'll gain the one thing she's always longed for.But if she fails, not even the gods can help her.

I love when books can be categorized as "mythology" or a "fairy tale" even when they're 100% out of the author's own imagination with no reliance on a traditional tale.  For me, this is COBBOGOTH.  It creates its own mythology and makes you feel as though Cobbogothians are real. It makes you want to look up tales about this race of people and hear more about their stories.  Sadly, the Cobbogothians are an invention purely from the mind of author Hannah L. Clark, though she'll kindly be returning to them in future books.  Another fun fact about COBBOGOTH is that, while it's the first in a series, it has a sense of feeling self-contained.  While there are a couple of loose threads left at the end that encourage a return to Clark's world at a future date, there's no cliffhanger to leave one tearing hair out.  I also enjoy the fact that the legends are set in Iceland, rather than the author's home country, giving readers a fresh perspective.

 Norah Lukens has always known about the Cobbogothians, but has always thought their race to be a mythological one.  She grew up living with her uncle, a famous archaeologist, after her parents died in an accident shortly after her birth.  The day she leaves school to return to her uncle, he's found brutally murdered.  He anticipated that this would occur and has left encrypted clues behind for Norah to discover.  Norah becomes swept up in a dangerous quest as she attempts to solve a mystery that will shed truth on the discovery of a lifetime, one that has been carefully kept hidden from the public eye.  She's told to trust  no one, and feels she can't even share things with her childhood crush after overhearing a private conversation of his.  Caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time during a second murder, Norah finds herself being chased by police and on the run.  She makes her way to Iceland, where life as she knows it will change in drastic ways beyond her control.

COBBOGOTH is full of mystery and intrigue.  Clark deftly delivers a world where readers are as curious about what's going on as the novel's narrator.  Too many books make the direction they're going in obvious for readers; this one never did and I was surprised multiple times.  To me, this is the sign of a good mystery and am intrigued by the world Clark has immersed us in.  I'm eager to see what path she leads us on next and get a more in-depth look at characters introduced late in the title.  I'd also like to commend Clark on her debut novel's sleek design.  It's well put-together, both inside and out, as well as nicely edited.  This book looks like one that could be picked up in a bookstore, especially with all the attention to detail in the interior design.  This doesn't look or feel self-published.  I'm glad that Clark created her own publishing company so that readers won't immediately realize it's self-published and turn up their noses.

COVER DESIGN:

The design for COBBOGOTH is so amazing that my normal Cover Design blurb just won't do the trick.  You need to see this book to believe it.  If you can't see the embedded video below, click this link to go straight to YouTube!











Isn't the design fabulous?  It was put together by Clark's friend Rebekah Shakespear of The Pink Lime Studio of Design.


I love that the author and illustrator both paid close attention to the book's interior in addition to its exterior.  Most novels don't have as much detail as this one does, and I'm always happy when I find a beautifully designed book!







Enter to win your own AUTOGRAPHED copy of COBBOGOTH!!!
This giveway will run until March 31st!


Comments

  1. Thanks for doing the video! Love all the pretty designs and art!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't it gorgeous? I just had to do a video! It's so well-done!!

      (Your comments are making ME happy today!!)

      Delete
  2. Good and another post from you admin :)
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    ReplyDelete

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